The Editorial Team |

Emerging-Market Currencies Sink to One-Year Low on Dollar Gains

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging-market currencies deepened their slide to the lowest level in a year and stocks retreated amid a U.S. dollar advance. Every developing-nation currency tracked by Bloomberg fell, and an MSCI gauge of equities extended its selloff from a January peak to 17 percent. South Africa’s rand slipped as the central bank warned of a “challenging” growth outlook, while Chile’s peso joined a slide in copper. The Chinese yuan sank…

Ramaphosa Shine Fades as Reality Bites South African Economy

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic and political problems are piling up for Cyril Ramaphosa, dampening the euphoria that accompanied his ascension to the South African presidency. A labor union boss turned business tycoon, Ramaphosa took office in February after the ruling African National Congress forced Jacob Zuma to resign following a scandal-tainted tenure that lasted almost nine years. While Ramaphosa initially won plaudits from investors and the public for instigating a crackdown on graft, sentiment has…

Copper Tumbles Below $6,000 as China Sends Metals Into Freefall

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A new round of trade war tensions is sending metal markets into a tailspin. Copper crashed through $6,000 a metric ton for the first time in a year and is headed for its biggest monthly drop since 2015. Zinc, lead, nickel and aluminium tumbled as the dollar rose for a third day. An index of copper-mining companies headed for the lowest close since 2016, paced by losses in First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Metals…

Egypt Scraps AOS, Al Wehda as Wheat Suppliers After Cargo Delays

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, removed two of its top suppliers from a list of approved sellers after repeated delays in delivering cargoes, according to an official with the state-run buyer. Dubai-based AOS Trading DMCC and its Egyptian sister company Al Wehda will no longer be able to sell to the General Authority for Supply Commodities, said the official, who asked not to be named as…

Billionaire Sawiris Steps In to End Egypt Investors Dispute

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt on Wednesday approved a deal settling a land dispute pitting the government against a group of international investors who owned a stake in a company controlled by one of the country’s richest men, a senior government official directly involved in the talks said. Investors including American businessman Sam Zell sued the government in an international arbitration court over the failure to fully honor a 2006 contract with Orascom Housing Communities. OHC is…

South Africa Reserve Bank Warns of Price Risks as It Holds Key Rate

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank warned of upside risks to inflation as it held the key interest rate at a two-year low. The Monetary Policy Committee unanimously decided to keep the repurchase rate at 6.5 percent Thursday. All 15 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted the freeze. The rand had its worst month in more than two years in June as the U.S. and China exchanged tariff blows at a time when…

Ghana’s Economy Likely up to 40% Bigger, Reuters Reports

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s economy could be as much as 40 percent bigger when the statistics agency publishes overhauled data on output in September, Reuters reported, citing government officials it didn’t identified. A bigger gross domestic product could improve Ghana’s debt ratio and get the government closer to achieving its budget-deficit target of 4.5 percent of GDP this year. The $45-billion economy is the seventh biggest in sub-Saharan Africa and one of…

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